The little mite crouches down in some taller grass, trying to hide. She holds up the little scorpion and whispers, "Where Lini, Scratch? She and her friends, they should be here. She show me new trick today, she promised!"
Colvin's nose and tail twitch nervously, "Yes, stranger very strange indeed!!! They should be here, yes they should be here!!!"
Colvin considers the group of humanoids, bog folk most of them. Colvin did like the Dwarf though, not much taller than him and he was a Ranger. Colvin begins to giggle just imagining a Dwarven Ranger sneaking through the woods, rocks would hear him coming! Of course, the Ratfolk giggle is projected as a series of snorting squeaks....
'Spected, is expected, Gufi ponders aloud.
He looks at the others. Amiri be here. That's what they say. Why she not here? Long-shank. Big blade!
From the nearby woods, a Kobold-ish figure drops from a tree, sprinting full tilt towards the gathered lieutenants. Fast for a small-folk, he nonetheless only makes half the distance before pausing to lean against his gun for a few moments.
Yraalik finally makes it to the group, panting deeply, and crumples to the ground.
"Where...where are friendsss? Y...wanted to ssscare hairy man...and Lini promised cat would play...with Ssssoggy."
Hauling himself to his feet, Yraalik takes a deep breath, leaning back to bellow as loud as a Kobold can.
Yraalik taps his foot...there's no sign of Soggy. He addresses his fellows.
"Y understands not. Y and you are here. Where are they with the papers?"
As the Kobold comes rushing towards the group Colvin starts his tail twitching as he watches the lizard man closely for signs of aggression.
"They are not here but they should be here. The big folk have long legs but move slow anyway, maybe they got lost in clouds?" He tries to laugh at his own joke but the sound fades in his throat.
Where are they? he wonders to himself getting worried.
In a whisper to the ratfolk, "Um, they not here. Where they be before they be here? Quuroog not know."
Colvin's nose twitches, "I know not, here they are supposed to be! Maybe we go to homes and see if they know our friends?!" Colvin points to the homes near the rivers.
Yraalik has been pacing for most of the wait, occasionally calling out for "Soggy" with no response.
"Hairy man say they buy from Oleg. Trading Post named Oleg. Maybe they at Oleg?"
That not look so good. Maybe we try Oleg's, then? Or look and see where that leopard came from. Maybe he et them?
Gufi asks his wolf. You smell something, Snipsy?
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Colvin summons his Eidolon.
Trailing a pace behind the leopard, the din-colored coat of an earless panther skids to a halt in front of Yraalik, emanating a whining growl and nudging the kobold urgently.
Yraalik mounts the beast, scratching the back of Soggy's neck, and holds his musket in his right claw, using the gun to gesture to the others, "Y think that was Lini-cat! Follow Soggy, she chase cat!"
Soggy leaps forward, on the trail.
Gufi mounts up, ready to follow the kobold, who seems to know what's going on better than he does.
Lini-cat?
"In fifty-four seconds!" Colvin squeaks.
"But is Lini-cat running to Lini or from Lini? Not follow cat, follow where cat come from!"
The little mite climbs onto her riding rat, but she's pointing where the cat came from rather than where it disappeared to.
Yraalik jerks back on the reigns as Soggy wants to continue chasing the leopard.
The kobold shoulders his musket, watching as the ratfolk performs some strange ritual. He nods at the mite as well, "Smart. Cat running away, not to. Y agrees. Soggy can follow trail."
Whenever the party is ready to go, Soggy will follow either trail, leading Yraalik rather than being lead.
Colvin's Eidolon appears, a medium sized rat which he leaps onto.
Whiskers twitching frantically"Now which way do we go?! Let's head to where the cat came from, maybe it is trying to lead us there?"
Okay. Follow that cat, Snips!
Quuroog, seeing wounded, rushes forward to try to help. There doesn't appear to be much hope.
Colvin and the Spirit ride towards the chaos and the bodies, "Oh this is bad, very, very bad!"
Quuroog, realizing that she recognizes the bodies, starts to cry, but she continues to look for signs of life through her tears. "No, no, no! Who hurt my Lini?"
Yraalik's ear frills quiver as he stands atop Soggy, looking over the scene from a higher vantage.
"Y see nothing. Y think caution is in order."
The kobold clamers down from Soggy, keeping his musket at the ready as he inspects the scene.
"This make Soggy sad. Y not like when Soggy is sag; skin gets crunchy.
...we should see if they bring papers."
Colvin says a prayer to Ferrakus and nods to the Kobold. He then begins to loot, er search the bodies...
Quuroog looks up from where she sits by Lini's body, "What do? These friends!"
Gufi dismounts and looks for any papers, etc., also.
Not Amiri! She was a friend!
His ears droop with sadness.
We'll make them pay, Amiri. I promise!
I don't know which way to go, but my mount needs some light.
Gufi casts Dancing Lights, directly in front of his wolf, and adjusts it to 30'. The wolf yips, and looks beyond the light, seeing 90' or more, ahead.
He then speaks to the group. I not sure humans believe us at Oleg's. Humans not like my kind. Gufi say we follow wagon. Kill them, then wait for other humans to come back with treasure from Oleg's. Kill them. Profit!
Yraalik nods at the goblin. He looks slightly impressed by the light show, but does his best not to show it.
"Goblin right. Humans don't like us here. Y agrees; Y votes to follow the wagon.
What we do with bodies? Do we bury? Y not know the spirits of big folk."
We try respect them, but we got no shovels. Catch up with wagon thieves, make a plan, kill thieves. Deal with dead big folk later. No time. No time to cry. Revenge. Quick.
"We should at least place some rocks and branches over their bodies, before we eat them of course! Then we go kill those longlegs that killed our longlegs! Then we come back to eat them for sure to honor their memories!"
Sounds slow to me. Move fast.
Y gestures with his musket, between the sobbing mite and Soggy, "She sad. Soggy sad. All want to kill big folk. Y thinks we ambush big folk."
In his difficult-to-maintain Common, the kobold explains his plan. He and the sneakiest of the others should go after the wagon, while the other two tend to the bodies. When they find the murderers, whomever accompanies Yraalik will hurry back to the others, who will be scattered around waiting. He will wait a few minutes, and then shoot them, hopping on Soggy and luring them back.
"And Y leap off Soggy onto dead folk. They think they catch Y...but No! Jump out and pounce! Big folk can not kill us here!"
Colvin's head moves up and down quickly and excitedly at Y's plan, "I stealthy Y!"
*Sniff* "I sneaky when need it."
"I will pray for friends. Then we go revenge. Yes?"
Bigger not smarter. We think go first.
Quuroog frowns at the goblin. "Then go. I pray. I follow."
She takes a hold of Lini and starts pulling her toward the ravine.
Gufi changes his mind and helps bury the bodies.
Quuroog pulls the bodies to the edge of the ravine, arranges their limbs, and works to collapse the edge over the bodies before putting rocks over them.
Satisfied, she looks around fearfully. Her greensting scorpion Scratch climbs up her clothes to her shoulder. Feeling him, she is reassured and takes a deep breath, saying, "Unnamed one, the one below our feet, patron of creatures low and mean, we commend the bodies of our friends to you and your creatures."
When she's done with her prayer, she shudders and closes her eyes for a moment. Opening them, she looks at the goblin. "Thank you. Now we hurt the ones that hurt Lini. Yes?"
Colvin follows the lead of whoever seems most able to Track.
"Yes, we hurt ones that hurt Harsk too! Convenient it will be that they are the same longlegs..."
Mounted atop Soggy, Yraalik and the beast are apparently too overcome with grief to find anything useful. The kobold fumbles around a bit, and points off a random direction.
"Y think they go that way."
Quuroog pulls the bodies to the edge of the ravine, arranges their limbs, and works to collapse the edge over the bodies before putting rocks over them.
Satisfied, she looks around fearfully. Her greensting scorpion Scratch climbs up her clothes to her shoulder. Feeling him, she is reassured and takes a deep breath, saying, "Unnamed one, the one below our feet, patron of creatures low and mean, we commend the bodies of our friends to you and your creatures."
When she's done with her prayer, she shudders and closes her eyes for a moment. Opening them, she looks at the goblin. "Thank you. Now we hurt the ones that hurt Lini. Yes?"
Yes.